Not a Stalker
by elime
Summary: She wasn't stalking Thirteen. Cameron/Thirteen pairing. Just a little New Year's Eve fluff.


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A/N: Ok this was kind of rushed because I wanted to get it in before midnight. Anyway, let me know what you think.

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She wasn't stalking Thirteen.

A few strands of long blonde hair that had escaped her ponytail hung limply in front of her face, but Dr. Cameron made no effort to brush them away or tuck them behind her ear. As long as they were there, she was hidden. Safe. She scoffed at the foolishness of her own idea and drew her jacket more tightly around her, shivering from the cold.

She shouldn't be here, she thought, turning her face to the black sky above and her, watching the hundreds of tiny snowflakes as they drifted to the ground. She shouldn't be here, spying on a woman who ought to be no more than a coworker to her, but for some reason she found herself mysteriously drawn to the younger doctor. And that's why she was here. That's why she was spending New Year's Eve at an outdoor skating rink when she didn't even know how to skate instead of with her boyfriend.

Chase. She loved him, and at the same time she didn't. Sighing, she rested her head in her hands, contemplating this. He was kind, funny, sweet. But he was just so damn clingy. Jealous. Paranoid. Nosey. Every other word out of his mouth seemed to be some question or accusation involving House. Sure, she loved him, but she was going to go crazy if this relationship kept up like this. Was that love? Squeezing her eyes shut, guilt and frustration swept over her as she realized probably not. Cameron shook her head vigorously in an attempt to shake off the remorseful feelings and turned her attention back to the rink.

__________

Her brown hair flew gracefully out behind her as her blades hit the ice, sending jets of snow shooting upward from her heels and carrying her swiftly around the rink. She inhaled deeply, loving the feel of the chilly night air filling her lungs with its bite.

Although the holiday had passed, glittering Christmas lights of all colors hung everywhere, companions to the stars twinkling above and the neon signs adorning the windows of everything from night clubs to bookstores.

People shuffled busily through ice-covered intersections, shopping bags swinging on their arms. Dogs barked from behind apartment windows and cars sped impatiently through the streets, angrily honking their horns when they were caught in yet another traffic jam.

These familiar sounds of the city put her at ease as she sped across the ice, completely free.

There were a few other people there, but she paid them little mind, only smiling as she realized that they were probably a lot like her: losers with no family or friends to spend the holiday with. She knew how pathetic she was, but refused to let it bother her, constantly telling herself that in ten years it wouldn't matter anyway. None of it would matter.

No. She wouldn't think about that, not tonight, not here. This was her safe place, her haven from the world. When she was out on the ice, nothing could stop her, not even a positive test result for Huntington's. She smiled as she pushed all thoughts from her mind and turned her attention to the people sitting on the benches outside the rink – the losers who had no family or friends _and _didn't know how to skate…

Or the beautiful young ER doctors who didn't want to go home to their boyfriends. Was that a streak of blonde hair that she saw as she once again flew past the spectators? A single strand of blonde hair trying to hide the face she knew so well? _Perhaps a little too well_, she thought, and her cheeks flared, despite the freezing temperature outside.

__________

Cameron's keen eyes swept over the entire rink, always returning to Dr. Hadley, never missing a move. And that's how she saw that the younger woman had faltered. Not a lot, just a slight movement of her foot that was off, scarcely enough to be seen. She had, shamefully, been here enough to know that Dr. Hadley _never_ fumbled on the ice, not even a little, so the fact that she had unsettled Cameron. She knew this was her domain, that skating was her niche, and that when the brunette was out on the ice, nothing got to her, or so she had thought.

Was that a blush she spied creeping up Hadley's cheeks? No, it couldn't be. It was probably just because of the cold. Nonetheless, fear swelled on her insides at the possibility that she had been spotted.

Suddenly self-conscious, Cameron wrapped her thin jacket more snugly around her wrinkled and bloody scrubs, as if that would help hide her.

And then it happened.

__________

It all happened so fast. She was gliding along, more than a little flustered but refusing to let it get to her.

Then her hair was flying in front of her face and her world spun, sending skyscrapers and streetlights zipping in and out of her line of vision. With a sickening 'crack' she was sprawled on the ice, breathing heavily, her face flushed with pain and humiliation. The young doctor sharply sucked in her breath to keep from crying out after trying in vain to stand and smirked as she heard somebody call out,

"Is anyone here a doctor?"

Yeah. Because she needed a doctor to tell her she had a broken ankle.

__________

"Is anyone here a doctor?"

Dr. Cameron heard the call, but she was already rushing out on the ice to help Dr. Hadley, not even taking the time to care that doing so would mean revealing that she had been there, spying on the younger woman.

Kneeling down beside Hadley on the ice, Cameron didn't even bother to examine her ankle; Thirteen was a doctor too. She knew it was broken. Instead, she held out her hand to the young woman in an offer to help her up, which Dr. Hadley grudgingly took after another failed attempt to stand on her own. Cameron lifted her to her feet and forced herarm around her shoulders. Her pride deeply hurt, the younger doctor shot her an ungrateful "I can take care of myself" glare before grumbling,

"It's just a broken ankle." But Cameron just rolled her eyes and scoffed sarcastically,

"Yeah, so I'm going to let you _walk_ on it through the iced-over parking lot to your car. C'mon." Thirteen grinned at the authoritative tone Cameron's voice held as she found her arm being wrapped more securely around the older doctor's shoulders. The two slowly began hobbling toward the parking lot, where they would climb into Cameron's car and head back to PPTH.

Cameron wanted to scream, and she would have had she not been sitting inches away from Thirteen sleeping peacefully in a hospital bed. Her ankle had been put in a cast and she was fine, but the weather had gotten worse to the point where driving was not advised. She watched the wind whip the snow into an all out blizzard while she had a particularly stressful conversation over her cell phone with Chase.

"I told you, I have to work late."

"I'm sorry, I know I was going to try and get home early, but I couldn't!"

"Yes, I know it's New Year's Eve. It'll still be New Year's Eve in a few hours!" And with that she snapped her cell phone shut, fuming, and chided herself for not having the courage to end their relationship right then and there. She sighed and looked back at Thirteen, realizing just how beautiful the young doctor was. She had never allowed herself to think about it before, as if ignoring it would make it go away. But now she couldn't help but notice all of the qualities she admired about Thirteen, all of the reasons she had been at the skating rink tonight.

"Hey." The voice snapped Cameron out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Thirteen's eyes trained on her, her smile friendly.

"Hey," she said, smiling back weakly. "Must be a horrible way to start out the new year." The younger doctor just shrugged. "It'll heal," she replied, dismissing it as if it were a scratch or a bruise. "It'll heal and I'll be fine, and it won't even matter anymore." Cameron frowned as she heard the twinge of sadness and surrender in Thirteen's voice, and she wished she could reach out and hold her hand, comfort her, and assure her that it would be okay.

So she did.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she told herself that it was an acceptable thing to do, if only because she wanted it to be.

__________

Thirteen was surprised for a moment, but she didn't pull away, didn't get angry and accuse Cameron of false sincerity. She liked the feel of Cameron's hand in hers, and suddenly, she realized that she didn't want to dismiss everything in life. She didn't want to be lonely anymore, didn't want to keep self-destructing and pushing people away. She wanted to make things matter.

"Hey Cameron?" She asked hesitantly. Then, without waiting for a response, she continued. "When my ankle heals…Do you want to go ice skating with me?"


End file.
